Everything about Kanagawa Prefecture totally explained
is a
prefecture located in the southern
Kantō region of
Honshū,
Japan. The capital is
Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the
Greater Tokyo Area.
History
In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of
Sagami and
Musashi.
Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the
Kamakura period (1185-1333).
During the
Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyo of
Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the
Tokugawa Shogunate in
Edo (
Tokyo).
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854, and signed the
Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the
United States.
Yokohama, the largest deep-water port in
Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby
Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the
U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet operations of the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The epicenter of the
Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath
Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated
Tokyo, the port city of
Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of
Chiba,
Kanagawa, and
Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. The sea receded as much a quarter of a mile from the shore at Manazaru Point, and the rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water which swamped Mitsuishi-shima. At Kamakura, the total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. At Odawara, ninety percent of the buildings collapsed immediately, and subsequent fires burned the rubble along with anything else left standing.
Yokohama,
Kawasaki and other major cities were heavily damaged by the U.S. bombing in 1945.
Geography
Kanagawa is a relatively small prefecture wedged between
Tokyo on the north, the foothills of
Mount Fuji on the northwest, and the
Pacific Ocean and
Tokyo Bay on the south and east. The eastern side of the prefecture is relatively flat and heavily urbanized, including the large port cities of
Yokohama and
Kawasaki, but becomes more relaxed to the southeast, near the
Miura Peninsula, where the ancient city of
Kamakura draws tourists to its temples and shrines. The western part is more mountainous and includes resort areas like
Odawara and
Hakone.
The
Tama River forms much of the boundary between Kanagawa and Tokyo. The
Sagami River flows through the middle of the prefecture.
Cities
Nineteen cities are located in Kanagawa Prefecture:
Towns and villages
Mergers
Transportation
Kanagawa's transport network is heavily intertwined with that of Tokyo (
see: Transportation in Greater Tokyo). Most air travel to Kanagawa goes through
Tokyo International Airport or
Narita International Airport.
Shin-Yokohama and
Odawara stations on the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen are located in the prefecture, providing high-speed rail service to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and other major cities.
Education
The
Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education manages and oversees individual municipal school districts. The board of education also directly operates most of the public high schools in the prefecture.
Culture
One of the most famous Ukiyo-e paintings is The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai.
Kamakura city, known for its historical buildings, is a favored location used in many manga (comic) or anime (animation).
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Kanagawa.
Football (soccer)
Kawasaki Frontale (Kawasaki)
Yokohama F. Marinos (Yokohama, Yokosuka)
Yokohama F.C. (Yokohama)
Shonan Bellmare
Baseball
Yokohama BayStars (Yokohama)
Volleyball
NEC Red Rockets (Kawasaki)
Tourism
The city of Kamakura is famous as the location of many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
Yokohama Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in Japan (larger than Chinatowns in both Kobe and Nagasaki) and it's one of the largest in the world.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kanagawa Prefecture'.
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